27 Months (yesterday)

Our little boy is well on his way to 2.5 years old in just a couple of months. I have mixed feelings about all this growing up stuff... Tonight he walked around the house in the cutest Mickey Mouse underwear you have ever seen. Underwear! I swear this is not my kid---there is no way I have a kid old enough to start potty training.

I have a friend who has a little boy that is also going through potty training right now too....today she sent me a text that her little boy woke himself from his nap to go poop and she added, "only you would understand this excitement as much as I do." This is so true---I honestly think this is one of the greatest excitements I have in life...Oh how you can totally tell I am a mom. Over our mini vacation I had to change my FB status update that read, "Harrison pooped on the potty, vacation success."

Obviously this whole potty training thing won't be completely smooth. He is still having accidents at home (maybe 1-2 per day). He doesn't verbalize when he has to go pee (only poop). At home we let him run around in his underwear and freely let him go on his potty as he desires (sometimes he asks to go on the BIG potty). Sometimes he is OK with us asking him to use the potty other times, he gets mad when you ask him. Daycare is another story---potty training is not happening there. He will sit for them, but that is far as it gets. Honestly I think if he didn't go back to daycare after his 6 days at home, he would already been potty trained. Being at home makes a HUGE difference. I am hoping our 3 day weekend with kick start him back into full potty training mode.

I've probably already talked too much about potty training...but hey, that is the news at the Kelley household.

I finally decided that I will end monthly blog updates (like this one) when Harrison turns 36 months (I just hate saying 3, it sounds so old). There will be plenty of blog entries, but probably not focusing so much on the monthly changes.

This month:

Favorite Food: Cheese
Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse Club House & Chuggington
Favorite Animal: Sheep
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Toy: (Old) Digital Camera (and no, I am not making this one up)
Favorite Game: Elefun and Elmo Letters on the I-Pad
Favorite Phases/Saying: "What's that?" "A bite" and "No more monkey's jumping on the bed."
Favorite new word: Sully (that's one of our cats)
Favorite Books: Llama, Llama Books (the author really needs to write more) and "The Little Blue Truck."
Favorite Song (to sing): "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "ABCs"
Favorite Number: 2
Favorite weight: 25 lbs (he has been at that number for 4 months now)
Favorite Holiday: Christmas (he still asks where Santa is on a daily basis, apparently Santa left a lasting impression. I hope the Easter Bunny can shake the Santa thing).
Favorite helpful thing to do: washing things
Favorite habit: still using a plug (pacifier) and home and carrying around his "key, key," blanket everywhere---we have a Linus on our hands
Favorite time to wake up: 6:40 am on the dot
Favorite new skill: blowing bubbles in milk
Favorite thing to do with daddy: Count trucks and buses driving in the car
Favorite thing to do with mommy: bake (and have "A bite")
Favorite naughty thing to do: running away when asked to do something
Favorite thing not to do: sleep through the night
Favorite new trick for mommy and daddy: Reverse psychology
Favorite memory of the month: Mini vacation to Great Wolf Lodge


I think I could probably create a whole blog for the changes that occurred this month. It's been a roller coaster of potty training, an explosion and imitation of words, a whole lotta love and lots and lots of tickles. I seriously need to get his tickling on video---it's SO adorable, but then again what doesn't he do that isn't adorable?

I snapped these during bath time tonight for this post. Bath time has to be my FAVORITE time to photograph him.

Bubbles. Splashing. Smiles.

 Amazement with bubbles.

 No...he didn't cut himself shaving, it's a battle wound from daycare.

 He loves these lotion smiley faces after bath time.

Great Wolf Lodge (Wisconsin Dells)

I can't believe how much of difference it makes going from one to two years old. I am trying to put together in words just how awesome this last weekend was together as a playmate, mother and family of three.

Honestly I look at this kid some days and say, "Wow is this really my kid? He is so huge." I love his eagerness to try new things...and can't say enough about his temper and behavior in public. We can FINALLY go out to dinner again and not worry about him making a scene (well as often anymore) . He is getting to be such a good listener and honestly I love when other kids misbehave and cry around him, this is only because he looks at them with curiosity and then he glances at me for a little praise of "goodness," seeing that he is behaving. Damn I just love, love, love this little boy!

Over the weekend we spent the weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells with the Raadt family who are co-workers and friends of ours. They have an adorable little boy Micah who has the longest curly eye lashes you have ever seen! Micah just turned one in January.

We stayed Friday and Saturday night and got home later on Sunday. For me...I turned the weekend vacation into a 5 day vacation from work. Doug took off Monday, so he had 4 weekend, but all in all Harrison beat us both in taking 6 days off of daycare.

I didn't realize how many photos I took on our weekend stay, but it was FAR, FAR more than I anticipated, imagine that. :)

Here are some photos from recapping our mini vacation. As for a BIG vacation, we are thinking of taking Harrison on his first cruise ship in a few months. But, I would love to buy a boat, so do we save up to buy that? Doug grew up on a lake and I grew up spending the summers at my grandparents home right on the river. We both have so many good memories of growing up with water, we would love to have Harrison experience a piece of us. I am SO indecisive about things sometimes... I am sure this is one of the many things and I am Doug loves about me.

Now, enough words---here are some (or a lot) of peeks from the weekend.

Yep, this kid still loves to taste water.

Splashing with Daddy

He went down these slides all by himself!

We added a little Mickey Mouse :)

Apparently someone had too much fun...

 Apparently both boys had too much fun... Kristi and I came back from riding a few water slides and found this. ADORABLE!

 We stopped back at Buffalo Phil's restaurant again this year and look who made an appearance.

For those that don't know Buffalo Phil's---food and drinks comes delivered to your table on trains like this. What two year wouldn't love this? Heck, I am 20 something and still get a thrill out of this.

 Love this next photo (bubbles)---I even included myself in the mirror.

 After dinner and before story time at the tower Harrison and I (and Mr. Bear) enjoyed a sweet treat from the sweet shop.

We also had fun outlet shopping. Harrison cruised around in a car stroller rental that had been abandoned by someone (yeah, saved us $5...nothing wrong with being thrifty, heck we are already at a outlet). I made my co-worker Amy happy and traded in my "mom purse" for a smaller grey/powdery blue Coach purse. Harrison ended up with some adorable green Nike's and of coarse a trip to Baby Gap.

Stay tuned for my favorite photo from the weekend that I will post on my Linked 52 post on Friday. The theme this week is "spirit."

I am also due for a 27 month Harrison update (can't believe in just two months he will already be 2.5 years old), for now I am going to curl up my man and watch, "The Big Year." Talk about the BIG YEAR we are already having...I have to say it again, we love this little boy, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him!

Linked 52: Romance

It's time for a linked 52 post. The theme this week is romance. I didn't quite know how I was going to capture "romance" with a two year old. I want to find a way to include Harrison is every linked post, so I asked my co-worker if she had any ideas... I tell you, my co-worker Amy is great, so has so many ideas and not to mention she has an endless supply of props in her basement and she isn't even a photographer! I am so jealous. The table and chairs and Cinderella Minnie Mouse all curiosity of Amy.

A two year old version of romance:

I had the original idea of setting this up in the studio, but if you read my last post I am more about natural. We played restaurant in the kitchen, serving Mickey and Minnie (who have a long going romance) Mickey waffles.

Isn't he the cutest waiter you have ever seen?

 And the flowers, a niced added touch to "romance" and another oppertunity for me to photograph them before they dry up. (Thanks boys for the Valentine gift).

(blowing kisses)

  On Tuesday evening we were in urgent care with pneumonia---now look at this smile. LOVE.

Now ever since we played restaurant, Harrison is insistent that Mickey & Minnie join him for his meals---I caught a glimpse of him this morning setting up the table again as my husband is starting breakfast.

We are off to Wisconsin Dells water park (indoors that is) for the weekend! Happy Friday!


Check out who else is participating in linked 52: Stacey. Michelle, Heather, Tracey, Andrea, Jenn, Jessica, Amanda, Kristin, Sara, Tracy, Lesli, Janet, Naomi, Rhonda, Rose, Carla, Lena, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Liza, & Heather

Light

I am TRYING to branch out in the photography world, doing something different once in a whole. I love color, clarity and lightness. I guess you could say I am a wimp when it comes to trying new things.

I follow quite of few blogs these days, but two of the blogs I follow capture natural light like no other. The thing I like about these blogs is that they are about real life, capturing real moments of every day. Honestly if I didn't have to shoot in a studio I never would, it feels unnatural---I am outdoor kind of girl. I am missing summer and LONG days of natural light that accompany it.

Our house is old, 100 + plus years. It has caricature---you probably have seen the old wood floors in many previous posts. We have 9 foot original windows and original woodwork, but what we don't have it light. Both of our main entrances have porches which hinder natural light from coming in the house and the position of our house only allows light to flow in our kitchen and dining room in the early morning and about mid morning we have some light in our bedroom. Needless to say the flash gets a work out in our house. So---why am I talking about all of this light? Light is the most important thing when it comes to photography.


This morning I tried to challenge myself with the sun streaming into the kitchen window during breakfast.

Practice with light:



Of you scroll down to the I miss summer post---that was my other attempt to branch out. See, I am trying!